Weekly FIVE! February 19, 2019

Monday, February 18, 2019 - 20:00 By Eric Olanowski

Previewing this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix and reviewing results from the 25th Annual Klippan Lady Open. Also looking at Makhmudov's injury, Ramonov's return, and Magomed Kurbanaliev opening up his sports school in Dagestan.

1. Hungarian Grand Prix Begins This Weekend
Azerbaijan's reigning world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI headlines a Hungarian Grand Prix field of over 175 wrestlers from 25 different nations which boasts an impressive eight returning world medalists (listed in bold in below link).

Though they only enter three wrestlers, Azerbaijan has arguably the most successful team in the tournament. Their three entries are Azizli, Rasul CHUNAYEV, and Sabah SHARIATI.

Azizli is coming off a run to his first world title and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world at 55kg, while Chunayev and Shariati both hold Rio Olympic bronze medals.

Chunayev, who's 25 points is good enough for the No. 4-ranking in the world at 72kg has three world medals to go along with his Rio bronze-medal finish. In 2015, he won the world title and grabbed bronze medals at the 2014 and 2018 world championships.

The last Azeri entry is Sabah Shariati, who will be making his 2019 season debut at 130kg.

Korea and Serbia are two other nations that enter stacked squads into the second Ranking Series event of the year.

Korea's team features Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo, two-time world champion RYU Hansu, and reigning 130kg world bronze medalist KIM Minseok.

Kim Hyeonwoo brings 25 Ranking Series points into the Hungarian Grand Prix and is ranked third in the world after a bronze-medal finish at last weekend's Zagreb Open.

Kim Minseok, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the world at 130kg, is looking to bounce back after failing to medal at the Zagreb Open, and two-time world champion Ryu Hansu will make his season debut at 67kg.

Viktor NEMES, the 2017 world champion and reigning world bronze medalist Mihail KAJALA lead Serbia's team into the second Ranking Series event of the year. Both wrestlers are ranked fourth in the world at 77kg and 97kg respectively.

The Hungarian Grand Prix begins on February 23 at the Olimpiai Sportpark in Gyor, Hungary.

Click here for full list of entries.

Schedule

Friday (February 22)
Till 12:00 - Final entries for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97 kg
15:00 - Referee meeting
16:00 - Technical conference – all teams
17:00 - Draw – GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97 kg

Saturday (February 23)
08:00 - Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg
10:00 - Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg
Till 12:00 - Final entries/ Inscriptions définitives pour GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16:30 - Draw – GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
17:00 - Opening Ceremony
18:00 - Finals for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg Award ceremonies

Sunday (February 24)
8.30- Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
10.00 - Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16.00 - Finals for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg and Award ceremonies

Monday (February 25)
Departure of the delegations

China's reigning world champion NINGNING Rong grabbed her first Klippan Lady Open title. (Photo: Martin Gábor )

2. China Wins Four Golds at 25th Annual Klippan Lady Open
The 25th Annual Klippan Lady Open, one of the oldest all women's wrestling tournaments in the world, took place in Sweden last weekend and four different nations had wrestlers claim a gold medal, but it was China who led the way with a quartet of gold medalists.

China’s 2018 world champion Rong NINGNING and Rio Olympic bronze medalist YANAN Sun (CHN) were the leaders of the Chinese squad that had four champions.

Rong, who made her first Klippan Lady Open appearance, won the 57kg gold medal, while Sun improved on her 2015 fifth-place finish by winning the 50kg title.

The other two Chinese champions were FENG Zhou (CHN) and JUAN Wang (CHN). The pair won the 68kg and 76kg championships respectively.

The host nation of Sweden finished with the second most gold medalists, grabbing a trio of titles.

Jenny FRANSSON, Sweden's 2016 Rio bronze medalist, won her second consecutive 72kg Klippan Lady Open title and third overall while making her tenth Lady Open appearance.

The other two Swedish wrestlers who won gold medals were Moa NYGREN (SWE) Henna JOHANSSON (SWE).

Nygren, who was wrestling in her fifth Klippan Lady Open had never placed higher than eight before winning the 62kg title on Sunday.

Johansson finally got over the hump and claimed a Klippan Lady Open title after nine previous attempts.

Japan grabbed two titles and Russia rounded out the winners with a solo gold medalist.

Umi IMAI (JPN) and Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) won the 53kg and 55kg gold medals respectively, while Russia’s Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) won the last gold medal, which came at 59kg.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD - YANAN Sun (CHN)
SILVER - Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN)
BRONZE - Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Iwona MATKOWSKA (POL)

53kg
GOLD - Umi IMAI (JPN)
SILVER - QIANYU Pang CHN)
BRONZE - Annika WENDLE (GER)
BRONZE - Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)

55kg
GOLD - Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN)
SILVER - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
BRONZE - Diana WEICKER (CAN)
BRONZE - Marina SIMONYAN (RUS)

57kg
GOLD - NINGNING Rong (CHN)
SILVER - Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR)
BRONZE - Roksana ZASINA (POL)
BRONZE - Ramóna GALAMBOS (HUN)

59kg
GOLD - Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)
SILVER - Pei XINGRU (CHN)
BRONZE - Lauren LOUIVE (USA)
BRONZE - Emma JOHANSSON (SWE)

62kg
GOLD - Moa NYGREN (SWE)
SILVER - Jessica BROUILLETTE (CAN)
BRONZE - Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
BRONZE - JUAN Kang (CHN)

65kg
GOLD - Henna JOHANSSON (SWE)
SILVER - Gabriella SLEISZ (HUN)
BRONZE - Kriszta INCZE (ROM)
BRONZE - Naomi RUIKE (JPN)

68kg (One bronze)
GOLD - FENG Zhou (CHN)
SILVER - Natalia KHRAMENKOVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Alena SUKHAREVA (RUS)

72kg
GOLD - Jenny FRANSSON (SWE)
SILVER - CHUCHU Yan (CHN)
BRONZE - Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
BRONZE - Tatiana KOLENIKOVA (RUS)

76kg
GOLD - JUAN Wang (CHN)
SILVER - Epp MAE (EST)
BRONZE - Masako FURUICHI (JPN)
BRONZE - Francy RADELT (GER)

3. Kyrgyzstan’s Makhumdov to miss Two Months
The future of Kyrgyzstani Greco-Roman wrestling Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) is set to have surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee and is expecting to miss at least two months.

Makhmudov told United World Wrestling that he will depart Kyrgyzstan on February 18 and will travel to Germany where he'll have surgery February 20.

The 19-year-old expects to return to the mat in mid-April and projects that he'll compete at the September’s Astana World Championships, which are seven months away.

If you’re not familiar with Makhmudov, he’s the three-time age-level Greco-Roman world medalist who introduced himself to the senior level by forging an 8-6 win over Paris 2017 world silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) in the 72kg Asian finals. That match, which took place in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan’s Kozhomkul Sports Palace, was voted United World Wrestling's Greco-Roman Match of the Year.

In his memorable post-match interview, Makhmudov thanked the Kyrgyzstani fans for their support, saying, "When I heard it, I thought, 'I can die here on the floor, but I will still win. This win will be for them.'"

4. Olympic Champion Ramonov Returns After Three-Month Layoff
Rio Olympic champion Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) returned to the mat for the first time since undergoing spinal surgery in early November to correct a back issue that has long troubled him.

Ramonov told United World Wrestling, “I’ve returned to the mat. I’m going to wrestle at the Russian National Championships and possibly the World Championships.” (The dates for this year's Russian National Championships have not been announced, but they're usually one month before the World Championships so we can expect them to be in late July or early August.)

Last November, Ramonov told UWW, “It’s true that I had an operation on my back, but I’ve already got back to work and started physical therapy. I expect to return to the mat in January, and hopefully enter a tournament at 65kg closer to the fall.”

Ramonov's November announcement that he's dropping back down to 65kg should raise eyebrows of wrestling fans around the world because the Russian was arguably the most dominant wrestler in the world during his run to the 65kg Rio Olympic gold medal. On that run, he outscored his Olympic opponents 53-11 and thumped the returning Olympic champion Toghrul ASGAROV (AZE) 11-0 in the gold-medal bout.

But, since his title-winning performance in Rio, Ramonov hasn't been the same and a big reason is that he bumped up to 70kg. While up at 70kg, Ramonov has failed to make it back on the Russian world team in back-to-back years after earning medals at three consecutive World Championships and Olympic Games.

For a healthy Ramonov to represent Russia in Astana, he'll have to make a run in one of the countries deepest weight classes. The 65kg weight class in Russia houses returning 65kg world bronze medalist Akhmed Chakaev (RUS), returning two-time 61kg world runner-up Gazhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) and Yariguin runner-up Nachyin KUULAR.

5. Kurbanaliev Opens Up Wrestling School in Dagestan
Russia’s 2016 world champion Magomed KURBANALIEV recently opened the doors to his namesake sports facility, the Kurbanaliev Sports School, which is “located high in the mountains of Dagestan, in the village of Bezhta that's in the Tsunta district.”

“This sports school is located in my small homeland, where I was born and raised,” said Kurbanaliev.

The reigning European champion went further, saying he aspired to open the school because “We did not have the right conditions for normal training, and there was only a small room and a mat. Our youth had no place to train, and I understand them.”

In addition to freestyle wrestling, the Kurbanaliev Sports School will also be a practice facility for students training boxing, sambo, and volleyball.

The gym is currently open for wrestling practices, but Kurbanaliev won't officially celebrate the grand opening until the summer. “The official opening will take place in the summer, and now training has begun in various sports.”

For more information about the Kurbanaliev Sports School, please visit the school’s official Instagram account.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- Rəsul Çunayev (AZE) -- 2018 Dan Kolov
2. Sunday Smiles ?. ?: Lu Marin
3. #ScoreThat - Who do you think scored on this exchange? Was it red or was it blue? (Find out by watching the full match, which is linked in our bio).
4. We traveled to Puerto Rico with members of the USA Women’s national team as they took part in a 10-day training camp on the island. Video: Lu Marin @ Lu Marin Creative
5. Four days until the #HungarianGP2019 .

#wrestlebishkek

Asian Championships 2026 Day 1 Greco-Roman Highlights

Sunday, April 5, 2026 - 19:41 By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 6) -- For the first time, the Asian Championships will be held in two-day format. The edition in Bishkek will begin with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling and then Freestyle. Five Greco-Roman weight classes -- 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg -- are in action on Monday.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

The semifinals will begin at 18:00 local time

55kg
SF 1: Huoying SHI (CHN) vs. LALIT (IND)
SF 2: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) vs. Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)

63kg
SF 1: Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM) vs. Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
SF 2: Erfan JARKANI (IRI) vs. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)

77kg
SF 1: Ali OSKOU (IRI) vs. AMAN (IND)
SF 2: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB) vs. Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)

87kg
SF 1: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
SF 2: Sunil KUMAR (IND) vs. Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)

130kg
SF 1: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Minseok KIM (KOR)
SF 2: Yuta NARA (JPN) vs. Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB)

13:10: World champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) begins his Asian title defense with a 10-0 win over Roman KIM (KGZ) and advance to the semifinals. He will face Minseok KIM (KOR)

13:03: Returning bronze medalist Yuta NARA (JPN) gets the winning score with a slow-motion gut wrench in the second period, prevailing on last-point criteria 3-3 over two-time Asian U23 silver medalist Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ) to advance to the 130kg semifinals.

12:58: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) gets a gut wrench to the back upgraded to a 4-point move upon his opponent's challenge, giving him a 10-0 victory over two-time bronze medalist Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) and moving him a step closer to a second straight gold, this time up at 87kg after winning at 82kg last year.

12:57: World bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) with some big throws and a fall against Dovletmyrat BAYRAMOV (TKM) at 87kg in just 30 seconds. Zhanyshov vs Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) final will be a treat.

12:50: Sunil KUMAR (IND), the last Indian to win a Greco gold when he did on home soil in New Dehli in 2020, reeled off two gut wrenches from par terre in the second period for a 5-1 victory over Shichang ZHENG (CHN) and a place in the 87kg semifinals. Kumar is also going for his fourth career Asian medal.

12:42: Kaisei TANABE (JPN), last year's champion at freestyle 65kg looking to make history with a victory at Greco 63kg, minimized the points scored by Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), but failed to get enough of his own and came out on the short end of a 4-3 score. Taalaibek Uulu had the first chance in par terre, but even though he lifted Tanabe off his feet, he could only get a 1-point throw out of it. Taalaibek Uulu then got in on a bear hug and lifted Tanabe again, but only got a takedown out of that situation to lead 4-0 at the break. Tanabe got a chance at par terre and hit a gut wrench to cut the gap to 1, but could not pull out the win.

12:32: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), aiming to improve on his two bronze medals from 2023 and 2025, rips off four straight rolls from par terre and he's into the 55kg semifinals with a 10-0 win over Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI). The Iranian side pushed the challenge button before the first roll, looking for a leg foul, but the scoring was upheld.

12:25: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), a bronze medalist in 2024, makes short work of Amro SADEH (JOR), storming to a quick 9-0 win to earn a semifinal date with Makhmudov.

12:23: There cannot be a better way to find a way to win a Greco-Roman bout that a five-point throw! AMAN (IND) does exactly that in his quarterfinal against Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) at 77kg. Aman was down 4-1 but got on a duckunder and locked Bahejiang and completes a perfect throw for five points and wins 6-4

12:20: Ali OSKOU (IRI), Zagreb Open Ranking Series champion at 77kg, defends from par terre twice, against Yeonghun NOH (KOR) and he does that well, once with 25 seconds remaining to win 5-2 and advance to the semifinals.

12:18: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) with another spectacular throw as he defeats Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) 9-1 to gain a place in the semifinals. Makhmudov is put on the bottom of par terre, but wiggles his way out and gets behind for a takedown. Then the fun starts, as he hits a high-flying 4-point throw to lead 6-1. In the second period, Makhmudov gets the top position, and he quickly executes a gut wrench that ends the proceedings.

12:10: Roman KIM (KGZ) gets the home crowd going, getting four straight rolls from par terre to knock off Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) 9-0 at 130kg. Batbayar is one of a few wrestlers who will be doing the Greco-Freestyle double in Bishkek — he's the Asian U23 champion in freestyle!

12:08: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI), the reigning world champion at 82kg, has moved up to the Olympic weight of 87kg and gets off to a good start, overwhelming Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK) 9-0 in less than two minutes.

12:05: Hyunwoong CHOI (KOR) survives a battle against Huangsheng WU (CHN) at 63kg. He was leading 11-6 when Wu scored a huge four-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to make it 11-10. But the last desperate attempt ended with Choi getting two points and a 13-10 win

12:02: Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), an Asian champion in 2019 and world bronze medalist in 2023, is looking to regain the magic up a weight at 63kg. He cruises through his opening match, handily defeating Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA) 8-0.

11:51: Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI), winner at the Zagreb Ranking Series tournament, advances at 55kg with a 4-0 victory over Nurzat KABDYRAKHIMOV (KAZ). Hosseinvand chalks up three points in the first period, then adds a stepout in the second.

11:41: Local star Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) gets the tournament off to an exciting start with a 4-point bear hug en route to a 7-3 victory over a spunky Isami HORIKITA (JPN) in the opening match at 77kg. Makhmudov, a two-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion aiming for his fourth career Asian gold, used a bear hug to power Horikita to the mat, then added a 2-point roll for 6-1 lead. In the second period, Makhmudov got the passivity point, but when he tried a gut wrench from par terre, Horikita stepped over for a 2-point exposure. But that was the end of the scoring and Makhmudov was safely through.

11:15: The Asian Championships will get underway in Bishkek with Greco-Roman. Five weight classes with local hero Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) in action as well.

Weekly FIVE! February 19, 2019

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Asian Championships 2026 Day 1 Greco-Roman Highlights